Target for 80% of voters to come out for Thailand's Charter referendum

BANGKOK, April 5 (TNA) - The Election Commission of Thailand (EC) has set a target that up to 80 per cent of eligible voters will exercise their rights on the referendum of the country's new Constitution draft, expected to be held in July 2016. An election commissioner, Thirawat Thirarojwit, told journalists on April 4 that the upcoming public referendum on the new Constitution draft would become “Thailand’s history in the future”, as both Thais and foreigners are monitoring closely on the event. Thirawat pointed out that the number of Thai voters exercising their rights on the Charter referendum will also display how efficient the country's EC is. Thirawat stressed that EC wants 80 per cent of Thai voters to exercise their rights on the new Charter referendum so that an over 3 billion baht budget earmarked for holding the referendum is spent efficiently. Thirawat said he personally believed that there would be no irregularity on the upcoming public referendum because of a stiff penalty. Meanwhile, EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen and election commissioners held a meeting with provincial election directors and other concerned officials to prepare how to conduct the Charter referendum smoothly. Supachai told the meeting that the Charter referendum is considered an important mission as all sectors are watching EC’s performances and spending. According to the EC chair, all personnel of the election agency must be, thus, cautious on spending and must operate with transparency. (TNA)